The 2012 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Show and Dinner in L.A.

The CFDA went Hollywood—well, technically, West Hollywood—on Thursday afternoon, when the ten finalists arrived at the Chateau Marmont for the annual fashion show in the garden (the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund’s last challenge before a winner is announced next month). Some designers, like Jennifer Meyer, kept cool at the prospect of showing their collection to an audience that included the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Victoria Beckham, and Baz Luhrmann. “It’s so fun to be able to look out at an event like this and see my family and friends,” said the Los Angeles-based jewelry designer, whose husband, Tobey Maguire, and parents, Ron Meyer and Kelly Chapman Meyer, were there to cheer her on. Other participants, however, were feeling the pressure. “I have so many butterflies,” admitted shoe designer Tabitha Simmons as other finalists like Greg Armas, Jennifer Fisher, Andrea Lieberman and guests Minnie Mortimer and Scott Sternberg made their way to their seats. “I’m like the Central Park Zoo of butterflies.” Simmons, of course, had no need to fret. The show went off without a hitch and concluded with each contender taking a well-earned victory lap around the square runway, escorted by a model in one of their designs.

Afterward, everyone gathered inside the hotel lounge to enjoy a high tea (complete with petits fours and finger sandwiches) cohosted by Vogue’s West Coast Editor, Lisa Love. “This is actually does feel quite British,” said Beckham, giving the event a stamp of authenticity otherwise negated by the swaying palm trees outside. Katy Perry, in a Wes Gordon sheath emblazoned with a giant swan, was eager to chat with the CFDA-nominated designer. “I was an ugly duckling, and he made me into a beautiful swan,” quipped the pop star. “I’m finally coming out of my shell.”

Later that evening, the cultural commingling continued as the fashion funders joined the British Fashion Council’s London Show Rooms designers at a private dinner hosted in their honor by Anna Wintour and Beckham. The young, emerging designers from both continents mingled in the candlelit dining room of Bouchon in Beverly Hills. Beckham, who had had a power outage at her home earlier in the night and was forced to get ready in the dark, still managed to look beautiful in a skirt, blouse, and jacket ensemble from her own spring collection. Her friend Simon Fuller seemed to agree: “Maybe you should get ready in the dark more often,” he teased her. Florence Welch hugged her longtime friend Dominic Jones and posed for photos as members of the fashion fund’s judging committee, including J.Crew’s Jenna Lyons and Reed Krakoff, circulated around the room. “There are no losers, only winners,” said Wintour in reference to the fashion fund annual competition and the upcoming awards ceremony that will take place in New York next month. At the end of the dinner—at least certainly for one evening—everyone seemed to agree as Meredith Melling Burke, Greg Chait, Sofia Sizzi, and Illesteva’s Daniel Silberman made their way out of the restaurant and on to a late-night dance party to continue the festivities.